In a rare instance, the entire world came together to pray and cheer for just one man; a brave, if not insane Austrian by the name of Felix Baumgartner, who monumentally broke not one, not two – but five world records on October 14th.

Baumgartner now holds the record for “the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall”, “highest vertical speed in freefall”, “highest freefall parachute jump”, “greatest freefall distance”, and “longest ever freefall”, a phenomenal achievement by the fearless Felix and more than worthy of being in the Guinness World Records.

In parallel, throughout this entire event that got the whole world on the net to witness the live stream of this daredevil, whose name other than Baumgartner’s was being featured the most?

Red Bull.

Red Bull’s positioning in the extreme sports market is so solid that it has now become a household name for anything that encompasses danger, adrenaline and heart stopping action.

All of us know that Red Bull is an energy drink but that just wasn’t enough for them. Red Bull goes on to conquer everything in the realm of “energy” in itself, straying away from it ‘giving you wings’ to football, formula one, music and now; (the coupe de grâce) a man space-diving.

As opposed to Red Bull found in video games like Worms 3D, enabling your character to move, run and jump faster, sponsoring the largest paper airplane throwing competition in the world and now a single man jumping from the vast vacuum of space back onto our planet. Red Bull as a brand has gone to giant leaps to distinguish itself from its competitors.

In branding, you’ll have to think about the bigger picture. Not just being at the top of your market, but entering new ones and establishing your brand as the best in any field. And in terms of storytelling, it’s about entertaining your audience, keeping us at the edge of our seat and wanting more.
How is your brand going to give us the unexpected while still remaining relevant?